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SINGAPORE – The Ministry of Education is following up with the National University of Singapore (NUS) and other universities to ensure student safety, following the firing of former Tembusu College fellow Dr. Jeremy Fernando amid allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct.
In a Facebook post on Saturday night (October 24), Minister of State for Education Sun Xueling said that university leaders were asked what else can be done to prevent such cases from happening in the future.
“At the end of the day, our institutes of higher education (DIH) have a duty to care for their students. There must be zero tolerance on our campuses for any form of sexual misconduct, harassment or violence,” he wrote.
Dr. Fernando was fired from NUS on Oct. 7 after internal investigations found he “had an intimate relationship” with a college student, a serious violation of its code of conduct for staff, NUS said last Wednesday.
Two students had denounced that Dr. Fernando had made non-consensual advances to them, and the university said it had made a police report, “given the seriousness of the complaints.”
Ms. Sun said: “The issues surrounding this case lead us to ask: How can we better protect ourselves from educators and others who cross the line, and how can we collectively strengthen campus security?”
He added that the Ministry of Education will continue to work closely with all DIH to reinforce processes when necessary and guarantee the safety of the student community at all times.
In response to Facebook’s post in a comment, NUS Dean of Students Leong Ching clarified that when she admitted that the university could have handled the problem better during a press conference on Friday, she referred to “communication less than timely “of the university’s decision.
“I am not referring to our response to the complaint, which was first, to provide immediate support and attention to the students involved; second, to suspend immediately and then summarily dismiss the staff, all in little more than a month. I think this was the most as quickly as possible, respecting due process.
“With all due respect, Minister, this is what zero tolerance looks like,” wrote Associate Professor Leong.
Investigations are ongoing.
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